Performing Pm Exam

Removing the liver and spleen

Now we move on to the abdominal cavity and remove the organs in turn.

Overview of contents

Before we start, let’s recap by identifying the main organs we identified previously in the image below.

Figure 1
Figure 1

We shall now start to remove the abdominal organs.

The adrenal gland

Transecting the colon

Pick up the colon as shown ('Col) and insert the knife through the mesentery (arrow).

Figure 2
Figure 2

Next, cut across the colon (hashed line).

Figure 3
Figure 3

Removing the organs

If the oesophagus has been left intact, it can be ligated with string.

Now take hold of the intact (if present), or cut end of the oesophagus next to the stomach, and cut it away from the diaphragm. When freed from the diaphragm, holding the oesophagus or stomach, cut through the dorsal fascia to release the intestinal tract, omentum, liver and spleen in one piece.

Figure 4
Figure 4

Now that the major organs have been removed from the thoracic and abdominal cavities, we can start to examine them in more detail.

Removing thoracic structuresExamining the heart, lungs and thyroid gland

We use cookies

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Would you like to accept all cookies for this site?

Tell me more